Why Is My Jabra Elite 65t Left Earbud Not Working? {ANSWERED}

For over 2 years now my Jabra Elite 65ts have held their own through long runs, rainstorms and being squashed under the full weight of a sleeping man. Their build quality is impressively robust.

On more than one occasion however, without warning the left earbud has inexplicably stopped working!

Needing to use them for regular conference calls when working in an environment with loud background noise, there was a sigh of relief when I finally figured out what the problem was (Hardware Fix No. 4 below btw…)

Here’s a summary of the steps I took to try, and finally succeed at fixing the Jabra Elite 65t left earbud after it became unresponsive:

Software Fixes

Conduct a factory reset
Check for firmware updates
Uninstall/reinstall the Sound+ app

Hardware Fixes

Check that the Elite 65t left earbud is actually turned on!
Check the charging case is receiving charge
Check the Elite 65t charging case is delivering charge

Elite 65t left earbud software fixes

1. Reconnect the 65t left earbud with a factory reset

Resetting the earbuds clears the list of paired devices and all stored settings.

Step 1: Take both of the earbuds out of the charging case.

Step 2: Hold the Jabra button on both the Right and Left buds for 10 seconds until the LEDs flash purple.

Step 3: In your phone or device’s settings, delete/forget the Jabra Elite 65t buds from the Bluetooth menu.

Step 4: You’re then free to re-connect your earbuds to your device.

2. Check whether a firmware update is available

You can check whether you have the latest available firmware by opening the Sound+ app and checking the About > View Technical Info menu.

If you do not, visit the Settings Menu in the app (the very first option at the top of the list is to check for a Firmware update) and follow the 5 steps below.

Step 1: Connect either of the earbuds to a device with the Sound+ app installed

Step 2: Open the Sound+ app and select the Settings > Headset Firmware tab

Step 3: If firmware is found to be available, place the earbuds back in the charging case and close the lid.

Step 4: During the update the LED on the charging case will flash purple.

Step 5: Do not remove the earbuds from the charging case while the firmware update is ongoing. The Sound+ app will inform you when the process is complete.

3. Uninstall and re-install the Sound+ app

To make sure you have the most up to date version of the Jabra Sound+ app delete the existing app on your device and drop round to the Google Play or Apple to download the newest version available.

It’s not exactly groundbreaking advice but you’ll be surprised just how many time this step untangles issues through wiping the cache and existing settings clear.

Elite 65t left earbud hardware fixes

1. Check that the Elite 65t left earbud is actually turned on and that it’s close to your right earbud!

No, this advice isn’t a joke.

When the Elite 65t earbuds are removed from the charging case they automatically begin to search and connect to the nearest paired device.

If the left earbud doesn’t connect straightaway to your phone it may go into ‘sleep mode’ and become unresponsive until it is powered back on again.

Moreover, the left earbud is designed to ‘power off’ when it has not had a link with the right earbud for 15 minutes whilst outside of the charging case.

To turn the left earbud back on simply hold the ‘Volume Down’ button for a second.

Tip 1: You can check the level of charge stored in either 65t earbud at any time by dropping the buds into the charging case and closing the lid. The battery LED inside the charging case will flash red, yellow or green when the lid is opened to indicate the earbuds current battery status as either high, medium or low.

Tip 2: You’ll know the left earbud has failed to connect at this stage because the L symbol on the Jabra Sound+ app will remain greyed out.

2. Check the Elite 65t charging case is storing charge

If your right earbud continues to work as normal that means the charging case itself is receiving and distributing charge, just maybe not successfully to the left earbud

Again we can look at the Jabra Sound+ app home screen to see what % of charge the charging case has retained. Alternatively the LED on the outside of the charging case will flash green, yellow or red to indicate high, medium or low battery. A constant green light tells us the case is fully charged.

If no charge is being stored in the case, the problem doesn’t lie with the left earbud but instead with the charging case itself.

3. Check the Elite 65t charging case is delivering charge to the left earbud

If you’ve established that the charging case is receiving and storing charge by virtue of the right earbud working correctly, we know the problem lies with how the case is delivering charge to the left bud.

One common fault with the Elite 65t case is that magnets slotted into the rubber cradle beneath each earbud become dislodged easily. The small rectangular magnets, one beneath each earbud, register that the buds are in place and gives the ok for charge to be distributed accordingly.

This turned out to be my issue which I suspect was caused by the charging case being accidentally dropped onto a pavement from a height of around 4ft.

We can mend this fault by removing the rubber cradle from inside the charging case and checking whether the magnets have become displaced.

Step 1: Use a flathead screwdriver to carefully pull up the rubber cradle for the earbuds.

Inserting the tip of the screwdriver near the hinge of the case for the best leverage.

The rubber is held in place by two patches of adhesive to the left and right of the hinge, so it won’t come out without a little force being applied.

There are no wires connecting to the rubber case so there’s no risk of causing permanent damage through removing it.

Step 2: Once you get the rubber cradle off, turn it upside down.

You’ll see that on the underside of either earbud seat, there is a small rectangular magnet slotted into the preformed rubber casing.

If you are experiencing an issue there is a chance one or both magnets are loose within the case.

Simply find the magnet and push it back into its slot (applying adhesive to the magnet is optional).

Pop the rubber cradle back into the case and check whether charge is now being delivered to the Left earbud.

Final thoughts

If you’ve been struggling with the left earbud of your Jabra Elite 65t headphones, we hope this article has helped to guide you through some basic troubleshooting.

Don’t let a faulty device keep you from enjoying your favorite tunes!

Give these fixes a go and see if they get those buds back up and running again.

Thanks for reading and happy listening!

Chris